Ensure dignified living for mentally ill: Dr Simmi Waraich

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 24

Persons with mental disabilities can live within society and the UT Administration should ensure dignified living for them through a group home within the city, said psychiatrists and caregivers here today.

Addressing a press conference organised by the Citizens for Inclusive Living, an association of mental health experts, family members and citizens, Dr Simmi Waraich, a psychiatrist, said: “Most of these people have moderate mental disabilities. They can live independently, but need support sometimes. Those in their middle age need a group home because their parents are getting old and their siblings are either not here or they don’t have any sibling. Most of them end up on the streets. Hence, a group home is required to accommodate them.”

The family members also highlighted the Mental Healthcare Act-2017, which has strong provisions on community living for persons with mental disabilities.

“My 42-year-old sister suffers from schizophrenia, while my mother has bipolar disorder. I, along with several other families, have been raising the demand for a group home with the UT Administration for the past three years, but no viable solution has been offered to us yet,” said Megha Sood, a city resident.

“We recently learnt that the UT Administration is proposing to turn a few flats at Maloya into a ‘separate enclosure’. This is a bad idea. Such a facility will worsen the mental health of these people instead of improving it. They need open and green spaces for recuperation and recreational activities,” she said.

The Administration had recently announced that a group home facility will be constructed on 1.25 acres in Sector 34. The association, however, asserts that such a facility may take a long time to construct while the need of persons with mental disabilities is urgent.

“We don’t have any information regarding the proposal because neither the families nor mental health experts were consulted. Till the time such a facility comes up, these people should be accommodated at Indira Holiday Home, Sector 24, which is the only large community place in the city with rooms and open green area. The place can also house senior citizens in one portion, while the green area can be common,” said Neelu Sarin, president of the Citizens for Inclusive Living.

‘No viable solution offered’

My 42-year-old sister suffers from schizophrenia, while my mother has bipolar disorder. I, along with several other families, have been raising the demand for a group home with the UT Administration for the past three years, but no viable solution has been offered to us yet. — Megha Sood, a city resident

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